The church, built in the late 1800s, features a 1,000 square foot rooftop space that was previously unused. The Hell’s Kitchen Project moved in 50 round plastic kiddie pools to the church’s roof, filled them with soil and let the urban farming flourish!

Set on West 40th Street, the rooftop garden was conceived this past June, in collaboration with the Clinton Housing Development Company and the Metropolitan Church of New York. The church, built in the late 1800s, features a 1,000 square foot rooftop space that was previously unused. The Hell’s Kitchen Project moved in 50 round plastic kiddie pools to the church’s roof, filled them with soil and let the urban farming flourish!

The gardeners grew leafy greens, carrots, tomatoes and peppers, all of which were harvested by volunteers. The fresh veggies were then passed onto the food pantry, letting the neighborhood’s needy enjoy extremely local produce!

Being in the thicket of Midtown, the farm faces issues that rooftop farms in Brooklyn do not. Increased pollution from the Lincoln Tunnel was a slight issue, but the real issue came with the hungry neighborhood pigeons. After many trials and tribulations, removable cages were placed over the kiddie pools to keep the pesky pigeons out.